The Ministry of Industry and Trade supported the idea of ​​distributing free products with an expiring date

The Ministry of Industry and Trade supported the development of the food-sharing program in Russia, the ministry's press service said.

Such a project assumes that retail chains will be able to transfer products with an expiring shelf life to those in need for free.

We are only talking about food that is fit for consumption, has the necessary quality certificates and complies with current regulations.

“The Ministry of Industry and Trade considers it expedient to develop a food-sharing program in Russia. According to expert estimates, if retail chains donate food products with a short shelf life to charity, this can support those in need and save about 1 million tons of food per year,” the ministry noted.

The department added that this issue needs to be worked out and discussed with the Federal Tax Service, since this type of operation needs to be exempted from VAT.

The ministry emphasized that now it is more profitable for retailers to write off goods and dispose of them than to donate products to charity.

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According to research, more than 17 million tons of food waste is generated in Russia every year, the Ministry of Economic Development reminded Izvestia. In addition to the humanitarian side of the issue, the disposal of such an amount of garbage is fraught with consequences for the environment. Therefore, the department has a positive attitude towards the idea of ​​further development of foodsharing, they said.